Guiding Star
by AndiKaneUnderwood
Summary: Hey, everyone! MacGyver here. So, this book is basically a gigantic book of one-shots that tell you all about me and Jack and Riley. Have fun with it. Oh, and there's my cue. Wish me luck!
1. First Priority

Only Mission

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

Watching and waiting were not very high on Jack Dalton's list of strong points. He wasn't very patient and his entire life was about action, so when his job called, he answered.

He'd met MacGyver in Afghanistan while Mac was working a case on this bomber called "Ghost". The Ghost had killed a man named Alfred Peña and they where afraid MacGyver could be next. That was where Jack came in.

Jack was to keep MacGyver from anything that could keep him from doing his job.

After they'd finished their mission, that job continued. Especially a few years later when Mac had been kidnapped from the middle of the field, right out from under Jack's nose.

They'd managed to find him and get him back, but Mac had four cracked rids, a sprained wrist, and his leg was broken in two different places. Along side those wounds where a couple burn marks, on his upper thigh, along the bottom line of his palms, over the bridge of his nose, it was nearly too much to handle.

Jack stayed with Mac in the hospital until the kid woke up. "Jack?"

The older man's head snapped up. "Mac! Are you alright?" He asked, leaning over from where he sat in a (very uncomfortable) chair.

"I'm sore, but okay. What happened?" The blonde asked, attempting to sir up.

"Woah, easy there, Mac. You where tortured for information by the Gray-49 terrorist group. We rescued you and you're in the hospital. You injuries where severe, you'll be off your feet for a while." Jack put a hand on Mac's shoulder and the blue eyed teen stilled, allowing Jack to push him back to the bed.

Jack smiled at the trust Mac had showed him, places in him. "Go back to sleep, kid. You'll feel better when you wake up."

"Sleep. That sounds so much better than being awake." Mac mumbled, blue eyes slipping closed.

Jack chuckled softly as Mac went back to dreaming.

His mission was never over, but at least now, Mac was safe.

His only mission was to protect MacGyver. And he would not fail.


	2. Family

Family

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

As much as Jack almost hated to admit it, he found himself thinking more and more about the team he had, and how much of a family they were.

The difference between a team of friends, and a family was not exactly clear.

There was much about the team that had to be revealed in the first place, the devoted time together, the trust and love.

Like before Riley, Nikki was a part of their family.

It had been Jack, Nikki, and Mac.

Nikki was much like the mother Jack had grown up without. She made sure he ate, made sure he was okay. She'd drag him away from a project (with help from Patricia and Mac) if she had to.

To Mac, Nikki was a sister. A kick-ass, strong, bull-headed, annoying sister. The one person who pulled everything together when everything fell apart.

Unfortunately, after Nikki's betrayal, Mac's issues with trust resurfaced and Jack spent a lot of time getting the old Mac to return, stronger and wiser, so that Mac would okay again.

Patricia Thorton was Mac's scary aunt, Jack's roll-the-eyes, "I can't believe you" big sister, and Nikki's frenemy.

Pattie was the person who glued things back together with smooth words, rare smiles, and blunt attitude with caring exterior. She kept things running, until she couldn't anymore. That was where Matty stepped in.

Matty was much like Patricia. Blunt, forceful, smart. The only thing she wasn't, was a robotic shell. Where Patricia refused to let other see weakness, wouldn't let herself be vulnerable in front of those she didn't trust, Matty was less like a computer and more like a mother. Stern, but caring.

Riley and Bozer where Jack's younger siblings, Riley like his daughter. The girl he almost raised to be a distinguished young lady, and would've if he trusted himself more. Bozer was the best friend to Mac, the man he met and simply couldn't get rid of, growing fond of him and being treated like a brother in return. That he could deal with.

MacGyver, the youngest on their team, was Jack's little brother and much like a little brother to anyone he came across. Jack was someone Mac could depend up, someone who could protect him.

Unlike Mac's father, who'd skipped out when Mac was 10 and left the poor young boy in the hands of his elderly grandfather, Jack didn't leave when things got rough.

Fathers where kind, fathers protected you, they raised you. Jack did all three and more. Mac had been raised by Jack's gentle hands more in three _weeks_ than the 10 _years_ that Mitchell MacGyver had with the blond.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

"You let go of him!" Jack snarled at the terrorist holding on to the blond boy. He banged on the bars. "You hear me? You let go of him!"

Blue eyes where wild and scared under blond fringe, darting from the cell walls to the bars, to Jack's face and that alone was enough to make Jack even more upset.

Riley, Patricia, and Matty where all in a cell across from Jack, Bozer was in the cell on Jack's left, and Mac had been unceremoniously shoved into the too small cell to Jack's right.

Riley and Bozer where spitting swears that would make any sailor proud, Matty and Patricia both glared at the man holding onto Mac. Matty with a fury that burned brighter and hotter than a million suns, Patricia with a laser of ice that swirled and swarmed, freezing anything and everything in its path.

Nothing seemed to get through to this mam, not even Bozer describing in explicit detail exactly how he'd kill this man (and really, Jack thought, he didn't know the kid had it in him).

"Hammer! Where'd you go? Get up here with Blondie! We got stuff to do!" Shouted a new voice.

The man holding MacGyver smirked at Jack as he shoved the blond boy up the stairs.

Jack hit the bars again. "You leave him alone! Leave my kid alone!" He yelled. " _Bring him back, damn it_!" He shouted, screamed, and yelled himself hoarse, but it was to no avail. The man didn't respond and MacGyver was not brought back down.

After a few hours, something hit Riley. "Jack?" She asked softly so as not to agitate the brunet.

A heavy sigh met her question, then Jack looked up from the crouch he was in, squished into the best possible position to watch the door.

"Why did you call Mac your 'kid'?" She asked.

Matty and Patricia looked up, as did Bozer, all three with inquiries in their eyes, and waiting for answers in reply.

Another heavy sigh. "Started a long time ago in Afghanistan. Mac got captured by this underground terrorist cell. They tied him up and tried to beat the military strategies and such outta him, then they tried this diluted, shitty, not-even-been-tested-yet truth serum. We managed to get him out before he started saying things he didn't want to, but the second he was safe, he and I sat down and he told me a while bunch of things that he trusted me not to tell."

"Like what?" Matty asked.

"Like how he thought of me like his big brother. Like the _daddy_ he never got to have." Jack replied. He was looking at them with gentle eyes, but there was steel in them too. They all understood the message that if they told _anyone,_ they would all feel the wrath of Jack Dalton.

"Since then, he's been my surrogate little brother and kinda like my kid." Jack finished, putting his head down again.

His eyes snapped up again as a door was opened. A pair of footsteps pounded down what sounded like a set of stairs.

MacGyver was dropped on the floor in front of Jack's cell. "Here's your _kid_ back." The man laughed mockingly, unlocking the cell and stepping back.

Jack slowly approached, as if making sure the man wouldn't slam the gates shut though he clearly wanted to have Mac in his arms _now_ , then darted forward and snatched up the blonde's body, going back to his corner of the cage with Mac in his strong arms.

The cage was shut and locked and the man laughed cruelly as he left.

All eyes turned to Mac as a groan slipped from his lips and his blue eyes fluttered open. "D-Dad?" He murmured.

"I'm here kiddo. I'm right here." Jack replied, pulling Mac closer and keeping him warm as Mac relaxed with an audible sigh and buried his face in Jack's broad chest.

In that moment, Riley, Bozer, Matty, and Patricia learned that no matter how they annoyed, bothered, hurt, or drove each other nuts, they were a family.

And family looked out for their own.

So as Mac fell into sleep, he could rest easy under the knowledge that his team was watching over him.

And his _family_ was there.


	3. More Important

More Important

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

The grenade comes through the window and Mac doesn't hesitate.

He throws himself at the bomb, picks it up, and pitches it right back to the people currently making his life Hell.

Mac turns, throwing his hands over his head in feeble protection.

As the grenade goes off, Mac's hands begin to shake. When he stands, Jack is staring at him with a look of concern because _Mac could have died_.

The blonde hides his shaking hands by threading pale fingers through his hair and trying _very_ hard to work through the fact that _he just freaking did that_ without having a panic attack.

Jack understands, and does not point it out, a fact that Mac is eternally grateful for because pointing it out is liable to send him straight into the thing he was trying to avoid.

The first thing he does to get away from the panic is move closer to Jack (Jack is his lifeline. His anchor when things get bad. When things go sideways, Jack is who he searches for. Should Jack end up dying on one of these mission, as Mac fears he one day will, Mac will be unable to continue) and Jack moves closer to him to provide the safety for Mac to gather his thoughts and composure.

Riley wisely stays back as she knows Mac needs time to recover from what he'd just done (Riley is also a lifeline, just in a different way. If Jack is his anchor, the Riley is shore, waiting patiently for him to come home where she will welcome him with open arms and do what she can to piece him back together with Jack by both of their sides) and she keeps the others at bay as well.

Jack stays there, his gaze hardening when the Marines look to ask a question.

They stay there for five minutes before Mac is pulled, far too soon, from his thoughts to focus back on the mission.

Jack knows that when they get back to American soil, Mac will break down in the safety of his own, or Jack's home. Jack will question his partner later. Right now they have a job to do.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac wakes up that night in a bed that is unfamiliar.

The bed is cold and white and unforgiving.

He hears a buzz in his ears before he is told by his superior that he has been given a chance to try again.

He asks what he is to do, what he has to try for again.

He asks what is going on.

The voice in his ears does not respond.

A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision.

He turns and his best friend is standing there with his arms crossed over his broad chest and the same smirk frozen on his face.

He asks his friend what he is doing here.

He does not receive an answer.

The voice tells him he has two minutes to save his friend, and then begins to count down.

Mac looks frantically around the room to find what he is saving his friend from, but finds no hostile weapons or people.

Then with five seconds until the deadline, a grenade is launched into the room.

 _There is not enough time_.

The world goes dark and Mac understands.

He had _failed_ to save the most important person in his life.

He had _failed_ to complete his mission.

He had failed _Jack._

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac wakes up at ten minutes until one in the morning in a bed that is as familiar as his own. His ears are ringing, his body drenched in sweat, and a scream cutting through his lips.

He can taste the blood there, where he'd cut it on his teeth after a near miss from the second bomb.

The ringing is from the grenade he'd thrown back, the one that had almost given him a panic attack.

The sweat is from the nightmare he hadn't quite convinced himself he'd woken up from. As are, he quickly finds, the tears that run down his cheek and drop gently to the old t-shirt he wore.

The scream, however, is what brings Jack Dalton running to the room in sweatpants and carrying a hand gun.

Mac briefly thinks it's ridiculous, but all he wants in that moment is to be told it will be okay.

"Mac." Jack speaks it like a command, but the blonde man knows different.

Jack is asking him to tell his friend what had made him so upset.

"It wasn't the grenade." Mac says. His voice is rough from the crying he'd done as the nightmare came to a close.

Jack nods, he'd known that, if it were a grenade then Mac wouldn't have woken up screaming.

"What happened?" Jack asked, sitting down on the bed next to his hurting partner.

It is over three hours before Mac finds the courage to answer.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

 _Angus MacGyver is too damned young when his grandfather tells him that his mother is dying._

MacGyver spends the whole rest of the day trying to find a way to save her through the complex mathematic theories he is so fond of.

When he cannot find an answer, he spends whatever time he has left with his mother.

She lived on until his fifth birthday when she simply couldn't hold on another moment.

MacGyver swears to his grandfather that he will _never_ again celebrate the day his mother _died_ _._

 _Angus MacGyver is ten when his father tells him that he is leaving and will not be coming back._

His father hugs him tightly and tells him that there is no equation to fix what he is doing and makes MacGyver promise not to try.

When he does promise, his father gives him a smile and then gets in his car to leave.

He looks back only once as he nears the end of the drive way and he waves at the son his is abandoning.

MacGyver tells his grandfather that night that he will not be left vulnerable anymore.

 _Angus MacGyver is almost sixteen when his grandfather becomes too ill to properly take care of him._

MacGyver runs to his friend Bozer's home in tears because he does not understand why all the people he love are being taken.

When he finally goes back home, his grandfather tells him to forage on as he knows that MacGyver must do.

He then smiled and with his last breath told MacGyver that his heart was too big to be kept in a box under lock and key. He reminds him that he is still loved and the people he loves have not truly left him until MacGyver no longer remembers him.

MacGyver tells Bozer that he will be joining the army in his grandfather's memory and Bozer tells him that when he comes home, Bozer will be waiting.

 _Angus MacGyver is seventeen and disarming bombs in Afghanistan when he meets the Delta man who replaces Pena as his overwatch, Jack Dalton_

 _He is just turning twenty-one when he nearly loses him._

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack does not hesitate to bring his brother into a loving embrace. Does not hesitate to remind him that while the nightmare may have seemed real, Jack is still here and he will _not_ be going anywhere any time soon.

Mac allowed himself to sit there and take comfort in that fact that Jack is _alive_.

Neither of them get much sleep until the sun begins to rise again for its journey across the sky.

Neither of them really mind either.

But then, some things are more important.


	4. What Did They Give You?

What Did They Give You?

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

Mac couldn't remember much of he capture by Diablo, he often repressed his more painful memories, most of his more heavy torturings where repressed, only coming up when nightmares struck or another torturing brought them out.

Mac remembered being shoved into the trunk of a car, remembered bouncing around in the back over rough roads and potholes and the like.

He remembered thinking that he knew Morse Code and remembered his fingers finding the wires for the left tail light.

After the car stopping and him getting drug up a short flight of steps and shoved into a chair, it was all fuzzy and black and grey until Jack showed up.

Nightmares told Mac things he didn't want to know.

Nightmares told him that he'd been forced to inhale pure Nitrogen.

Jack was the one who told him that it had been an hour before they'd gotten the message and gotten there.

Jack was also the one who told him that the guy down communications that harassed him had been fired.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

This is how it goes:

After he'd been forced into the chair, Diablo had come in and told him what would happen if Mac refused to talk.

Mac refused to talk anyway and was forced to inhale the Nitrogen in effort to get air into his lungs.

In his nightmares it's often too late for him, or worse Jack in the chair.

He doesn't tell that to Jack.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack come in decked out in full gear, both because it was standard procedure and because he knew that this made him look more intimidating than usual and that was exactly how he wanted to seem. Diablo had taken Mac and Diablo was going to pay for that.

He came in silently, being the first one inside the house. When he saw Diablo his eyes narrowed but when he saw where the convict was heading, Jack saw red.

Mac sat in a chair, duct tape around his arms, with his eyes closed and his breathing labored, prepared to be killed because he didn't know that Jack was there and Mac was safe now.

So, Jack did was Jack does. Jack protected his little brother. He shot Diablo right in the head and Diablo dropped to the ground like a rock, dead and cold and Jack chuckled darkly, looked at Mac.

Jack watched as Mac's eyes flew open in surprise when his gun fired. Watched those baby blue eyes look around frightened before they settled on Jack and Jack grinned in reply. "Hey, buddy. Got your message. You might want to brush up on your Morse Code though, you misspelled my name." Jack was making him brush up more like it. This was _never_ happening again.

He looked at Mac with a soft smile, watching Mac return it was like watching a drunk try to communicate.

He thinks that this is the first time he'd ever seen Mac look so stupidly giddy to be alive. "Jesus, Mac, what'd they give you?" He asked.

Jack rushes over and cuts away the tape. Mac slumps further in the seat with a sigh, giddy smile still in place.

"Nitrogen." Mac murmurs, so soft Jack can hardly hear it and he nearly misses it.

"What?" Jack asked, more angry than surprised.

Mac flicks his eyes to a spot behind him, jerking his head sharply to the right.

Jack looks behind the chair and finds the tank that held the Nitrogen his little brother had been forced to breath in.

The brunette snarls, wishing that Diablo where alive so Jack could kill the convict all over again. Make him feel what Mac had felt.

"Dad..." Mac mumbled, bringing Jack's attention back to the blonde man.

Jack felt his heart break. If Mac was calling him Dad out in public, then these men had seriously hurt him and after the stress that he'd been put through at the prison, that _Jack_ had put him through. This was gonna be a rough few days.

"What is it, Mac?" Jack asked, sliding down to his knees so that he was eye level with Mac.

In times like this, it was best for you to be slow and quiet and not intimidating when it came to dealing with MacGyver.

"S not cher fault." Mac slurred and Jack nodded, only to placate him.

"Okay, Buddy. Let's get you to Medical so they can fix you up, alright?" Jack stood slowly and offered his hand to the blonde boy.

"Yeah." Mac took the hand and Jack helped him to his feet, steadying Mac when the blonde stumbled.

As they headed outside, Jack threw one last glare to the dead man who'd caused this.

Time for grieving and nightmares would be later.

For now, Jack had his brother to focus on.

And what the Nitrogen they'd given him, to make him talk, had truly done.


	5. Take a Little Time

Take a Little Time

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

 **A tag to X-Ray Penny. I felt that we needed the scene where Jack came to get Mac because we all know nothing was gonna stop him. The writers left much to the imagination when they produced this episode.**

 **I apologize for how late it is! I meant to have it out earlier, but I got distracted by a plot bunny.**

Jack walks up to the house of his best friend and doesn't bother with the door bell, simply tests the door to see if it's locked and let's himself in when he finds it's not.

(Mac's been known to invite people over, but forget to unlock the door. The only reason it's ever locked is because of A) his thieving neighbor, B) Murdoc knows where Mac lives and even before that, Mac knows what's out there, he knows what very well could happen if his doors aren't locked, and C) Jack threatened to change the locks and not give him the key if Mac didn't start locking his door.)

"Okay, okay, you had me at warm beer." He calls, kicking the door closed with his foot. He doesn't bother calling a greeting to Bozer, who's out on some kind of camping trip with an old high school friend. "Now about that apology."

Once he follows the clues left behind, the duct tape, the water on the floor, the phone on the island, he realizes.

"Are you even here, Mac?" He called into the house, hoping desperately that Mac just grabbed a quick shower or a nap or something before repairing the fridge and talking it out with Jack.

Deep inside he knows he's wrong.

He pulls his gun from his waist band.

(Yes, this is Mac, and Jack knows Mac would never intentionally hurt him, too afraid of driving him away, too afraid of loosing him. (Completely disregarding the incident in Paris, Mac was just really upset, on his last leg after just coming off a mission only to hop a plane to Paris with in the next few hours.) All the same, Jack is always prepared, so even to Mac's house, Jack carries the gun. Just in case.)

When he finds the final clue, Mac's knife in a bottle of wine next to that same _fucking_ mask, he knows.

And immediately he's on the phone with Riley and Bozer.

"Someone call Matty." Jack says "Murdoc's back."

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac wakes up in a foggy haze. Everything is blurry and grey and he doesn't know where he is and wasn't he supposed to be fixing the fridge?

He tries to sit up and his brain apparently decides that _no, staying in the chair is better_ and Mac's head starts pounding.

He tries to reach up and is stopped by a pull on his wrists, followed by the pain lancing through his right arm.

Mac immediately wishes he could go back to be unconscious.

Instead, he looks around, tries to get his bearings and find out where he is, he yells. "Hello?" He shouts.

A whistling came floating through the air. Was that...? Was that _Home on the Range_?

There's a door opening and Mac is suddenly aware of the stairs he's sitting next to.

He may be drugged to kingdom come, but he knew what had happened and memories had come back, finally. He remembered.

As his captor came down the stairs, Mac suppressed his shudder of disgust, knowing it could easily be read as fear rather than what it was.

(That wasn't to say Mac wasn't afraid. He may be brave, but this was still scary as Hell and he _definitely_ couldn't wait until Jack found him/he found an escape and got out, then phoned Jack to come get him)

"Hello MacGyver." Said the voice.

Mac looked up, his face carefully blank, into the face of Murdoc.

 _Jack, please hurry._

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack wasn't really listening to Matty and Riley and Bozer and Cage. Not really.

He knew what they where saying, but he wasn't really paying attention, how could he when Mac was out there and the didn't know where he was or if he was okay?

"You really think _he_ has Mac?" Riley asked, looking at Bozer, then at Jack again. "What about that guy you grabbed in Paris?" She asked.

Jack shook his head. "No, that guy's sucking soup through a straw in a dark pit somewhere thanks to an old buddy of mine with the French Military of Defence." He replied. "No. My... My Spidey senses are telling me the same thing. It's Murdoc." He replied with a nod to Mattie.

Things blurred until Cage asked if Jack was sure.

Jack stood, an angry look on his face, the lines on his face tight with rage Cage didn't deserve, but was receiving anyways. Mac was in trouble. He didn't have time for _what ifs_ when he knew the truth.

"That's _Mac's_ little red knife in there." He pointed to the outdoor deck. "Stuck in the same wine bottle he use to blast Murdock out that back window, next to the same _geriatric_ mask he wore when he first attacked us!" Jack seethed, anger in every word, dripping from his lips like poison.

"I really need to throw that thing away." Bozer added decisively.

"Yes, please do. Riley, Riley can you find anything?" He asked, begging coloring his voice.

"I'm working as fast as I can, Jack." Riley replied. Jack wasn't the only one to hear the underlying offer of comfort. _If he's out there, I'll find him._

"Okay, just, come on, just a little bit faster, please, please." He sat back down with his head in his hands.

Matty came over and reassured him. "Hey, this isn't your fault."

Jack looked up at her. "Then who's is it?" He asked. If it wasn't his, then he needed to know who to punch. He needed to know who he was going to kill.

"Not yours." Matty insisted firmly, but gently.

Jack tuned them out again until Riley found the right van.

Jack reset his brain, flipping a switch that turned him from _Jack_ to _Captain Dalton_. There couldn't be any panicking or fear right now. Not until the mission was over.

"That's him, that's Murdoc." Bozer said.

Jack stood, "Gotta be," and cocked his gun and looked at Matty. Waiting.

She looked back at him and nodded. "Go. Now." She looked at Cage and then at Jack. "Bring him home, Jack."

Jack nodded then he and Cage where out the door.

Most of the car ride after Bozer's addition was pure silence, Bozer had the sense to stay quiet after seeing Jack's _gut a bitch_ look.

The only break in the silence was when Cage brought in her own offer of comfort.

"Jack." She questioned softly. "We're gonna find him." She reassured him.

 _Tell me something I don't know._

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac doesn't remember much of his time underground.

He knows he was talking to Murdoc, he doesn't remember much of what either of them said said.

He knows he picked the handcuff keeping him tied to the chair, he knows he made a hydraulic jackhammer and busted the door open.

He knows he somehow stumbled into the sewers, but after that it's a blur of grey and brick and a shout and water and sirens and church bells and _light_.

Light is good. He wants out of this sewer. He _needs_ to get to Jack.

Jack... Jack was supposed to come over and help him fix the fridge. What happened to Jack?

He starts panicking until he remembers the fight and promised himself that if he gets out of this alive, he'll never take Jake for granted again.

He finds a manhole cover and goes for his knife to pry it off, but he doesn't have his knife. Or his phone and how is he supposed to reach Jack without his phone? How will he let Jack know he's okay?

 _Hey, hey. Calm down, okay? Listen, I know you're hurting, I know you've been through some rough shit, but I'm here now, alright? I won't leave you. So take a breath and calm down. You can do this._ Think, _Mac_. The voice in his head that sounds exactly like Jack tells him.

Mac can just imagine Jack taking his head between his hands, forcing him to focus on one thing and one thing alone. Making him calm enough to think.

Mac remembers his underground training from the Army and begins looking.

He needs to get that manhole out of the way. Maybe he can push it.

When it comes loose, Mac grins and Jack's voice laughs. _See? All you had to do was calm down some, man._ Mac lifts himself up and looks around, finding himself in the middle of the street.

He weaves slowly in and out of the passing cars, nearly getting run over by one when he isn't fast enough.

He finally collapses on the street and a young girl and her mother stop.

"Someone call an ambulance!" The mother calls as people start getting uncomfortably close.

Mac groans softly. "Jack..." He murmurs.

"Hang on, honey, help's on the way."

Mac doesn't know what happens next, all he knows is he can hear a car screech and a voice shouts.

He knows he passes out, but when he wakes up, he sees the paramedics and knows that Jack will be here soon.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack gets the call from the paramedics about thirty minutes after they get back from the warehouse.

He's immediately running out the door and calling to one of the Phoenix officers to get the "team" together.

He ignores Matty, Cage, and Bozer when they call him back, but he's thankful when Riley tells them to stop, that he's found Mac.

Jack slams the door of his car and still on the phone with the paramedics, looks at Michael Sanders. "Drive." Then puts the paramedic on speaker to send the address.

Sanders nods and they're off, speeding down Mac's driveway and into the streets.

Sanders is the only other person Jack trusts besides himself to get him to Mac within a reasonable amount of time.

"Okay, I'm sorry, what was that?" Jack speaks into the phone again.

" _We have a young man here who's insisting we call you and let you know where he is. He says his name is MacGyver? Does that mean anything to you, sir?_ " The man asked.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mac's my boy. Can you put him on the phone? Please?" Jack pleaded.

" _Just a second, sir_." There's the sound of his speaking indistinctly and then there's a cry of what sounds like relief. " _Dad?_ " A new voice asked.

"Mac! Thank God! Mac, are you alright? Did that bastard do anything?" Jack asked.

" _I'm alright. I'm okay, Dad_." Jack hears the underlying fear and vows then and there that Murdoc would be dying the _second_ Jack could lay a hand on his.

"Alright. I'm on my way, Mac, alright? I'm coming to you, I'll be right there. The police are hunting down that guy and he's not gonna touch you again, okay?" Jack asked. "I promise."

" _Dad, I'm scared_." Mac replied, sounding every bit like the scared 22 year old he was, younger even, and Jack pulls the phone, looking at Sanders pointedly.

Sanders nods and the car goes faster, nearly clipping a small Ford Fiesta in the process, but there aren't any kids in the back or passenger seat, so Jack can't find it within himself to care.

Jack really hoped Mac's use of "Dad" was just for a front and not because this was a very bad, nightmare/panic/anxiety inducing incident. Deep inside, in a part of his mind he's trying hard to ignore, he knows he's wrong.

"It's alright. I'm almost there, okay?" Jack tries very hard not to betray the fact that he's just as scared as Mac is, if not more.

" _What are you driving?_ " Mac asked.

"Sanders is driving me over, he heard what happened and wanted to help. You had us all worried sick, kiddo." Jack looks up. "I see the ambulance, I'm here. Stay on the phone til you see me, alright?" He hops out of the car before it's stopped moving and is running around the front.

Jack sees Mac sitting with his head down and his blonde hair covering his eyes.

He nearly cried with relief.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

"Angus!"

Mac's head snaps up at the sound of his name because he can count on one time the number of times anyone had called him that since he'd joined the army.

Only five times. All of them Jack.

He sees Jack come running from in front of Michael Sanders' car and struggles to stand.

Jack gets to him and throws his arm around Mac's body. Mac's hands fist in the front of Jack's shirt and Mac can finally breath properly again. His face is pressed against Jack's broad chest and he can smell the aftershave Jack had put on and he's still fuzzy and his head is swimming but Jack is here and that's all that matters.

"Tell me the truth, Mac, what did he do?" Jack murmured several heartbeats later.

Mac couldn't bring himself to answer, still foggy and uncoordinated and he's not _entirely_ sure.

The paramedic who'd called Jack stepped forward and offered an answer.

"He's got some kind of drug in his system and he's a little beat up. Concussion, a tazer burn, and," the paramedic slowly and gently took Mac's arm and Mac reluctantly let go of Jack momentarily so the paramedic could show Jack the butchered IV job Murdoc had done, "we're unsure if this was an actual IV line or the drug, but he _does_ need medical attention."

The second the paramedics let go of him, Mac was immediately latched on the Jack again, leaning closer and trying to get away. "We'd like to take him in-"

"I've got him from here." Jack responded instantly and Mac was grateful for Jack's ability to read the blond like a book, even through the walls and defences Mac put up to keep others out.

The paramedics nodded and began packing up their things.

Mac waited.

He was alright with that.

Jack was here now and that was all he needed.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

The paramedics left and Jack looked at Sanders.

"Find the rest of the boys and scout the area, if you find Murdoc, you know what to do." He commanded.

Sanders nodded and he was gone in the blink of an eye.

Jack turned his attention back to the trembling body in his arms.

"Mac?" He asked.

"I thought he had hidden me too well. I thought you wouldn't be able to find me." Mac murmured back, his voice muffled by his head buried in Jack's chest.

"It's alright now, Mac. I'm here, I ain't going anywhere and you know that."

"I was so scared." Mac continued as if he hadn't heard. "He was gonna torture me, Dad."

 _Dad_. Oh, that tore Jack to pieces. It wasn't a front like Jack had hoped. This had well and truely rattled Mac, there was no way it hadn't.

The next week would likely be spent at Jack's house with little connection to the outside world.

Jack pulled Mac back so he could look in the blond's blue eyes. "Now, you listen to me, Angus." He said firmly, using Mac's given name to make him listen.

Mac's eyes cleared a bit, marking his attentiveness.

"I would never, _ever_ , let that bastard hurt you again. Okay, not if I can help it. We're gonna find him, we're gonna catch him, and I'm gonna put a bullet in his head for what he's done to you. Okay? Nothing, short of my passing, is ever gonna keep me from keeping our safe, okay?" Jack waited until the words processed and Mac nodded to pull the younger back in.

Jack heard Mac sigh and he knew that while the next week would be rough, his partner would bounce back.

It would just take some time.


	6. Water

Water

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

Jack was almost asleep when he got the call.

Elwood had finally managed to get comfortable enough to sleep in the chair and knowing that, Jack could finally settle down to go to bed himself.

Then his phone went off and Jack groaned, reaching out without opening his eyes to find his cell phone on the nightstand.

He finally found it and flipped it open.

"This better be good." He grumbled in way of greeting, too tired to deal with normal pleasantries or his usual greeting of 'Dalton'.

" _If you'd classify 'Mac' as good, Dalton, then yeah. It's 'good'."_ Matty replied, none of her normal bite in her voice.

Upon hearing that, Jack sat straight up and all pretense of sleep flew from his mind. "What's happened?"

" _Those kids on the ship? They made it. Except one."_

"How does that-?"

Matty cut him off. " _Her name was Zoe and Mac spent most of his time talking to her."_

"Oh." Was all Jack could say.

" _She sacrificed herself to save the kids on the ship."_

"How'd she go?"

" _There was a hole in the wall and water was coming in. The door wasn't sealing properly and nothing Mac tried was working. She went in and hand lit the fuse, sealing herself inside with no way out. She drowned."_

"What do you need me to do?" Jack asked, already pulling on his boots and reaching for his gun between the headboard and the wall.

" _Get over here. He doesn't want to talk about it, but I know him well enough to know that he'd talk to you before he'd talk to me. This thing with him thinking I knew his Dad..."_ Matty paused. " _Just get over here, Jack. And bring some clothes. Something tells me you'll be here for a while."_

"On my way." Jack replied, and he snapped the phone shut.

After leaving a message for Elwood on the coffee table, instructing him not to touch anything except the food in the cabinets, Jack grabbed his keys, wallet, and his duffel bag (which was always ready in case something like this happened) and was out the door to save the day.

Or more accurately, MacGyver.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Fifteen minutes later, Jack was at Mac's place and letting himself in.

Unsurprisingly, the door was unlocked.

Matty met him by the kitchen island.

"Where's my boy?" Jack asked her.

"Out on the balcony." She replied.

"I got it from here. Anything specific I need to know?"

"Her name was Zoe, she was 26, not much older than Mac, and she drowned. That's it, other than Mac did everything he possibly could to help and it apparently wasn't enough." Matty told him and sighed. "He's only 22, Jack. He shouldn't be dealing with this."

"I've been saying that every day since I met him, Matty." Jack sighed and scrubbed his hand down his face. "Thanks for calling me Matty. I'll take it from here."

"I'd wish you luck, but you don't need it. I expect you back in a week and not a second before." It was then that Matty left, sweeping her gaze across Jack's face and rushing out like nothing had happened.

Jack drew in one breath, then exhaled slowly and prepared himself to deal with his too-young partner.

Then he faced the balcony and nodded to himself.

"Alright, Dalton. Remember the three "R"s. Rest, relaxation, and reassemble. You can do this." He mumbled.

There were times Jack was afraid he'd be unable to piece Mac back together.

He never let that be seen. Especially by Mac.

Jack shook his head and let his emotions take control. Mac didn't need "Captain Dalton", he needed "Jack" and that was what Jack was going to provide.

Because he was what Mac needed at the time Mac needed it until it was no longer needed.

Jack's world revolved around a 22 year blonde boy who was too young to be doing this work and too young to feel such loss.

Jack steeled himself and walked on out the balcony.

"Mac?" He called softly, spotting the blonde man immediately.

Mac didn't turn, but Jack read the tense line of his shoulders and the posture of his body, even as it all drained out of his slender frame. "Hey, Dad." he murmured.

Jack's heart broke.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac turned and smiled sadly at the person he considered his father, more than his real Dad would ever be.

"Matty called me. You wanna tell me what happened?" Jack asked.

Mac hesitated for a few heartbeats, then shook his head and tears sprang to his eyes. He made it two steps, intending to go hide in his bedroom, before he fell and Jack was there to catch him.

He couldn't stop the tears, couldn't stop the pain or the heartache or the mess of emotion he'd been holding back since he clicked off the monitor and started putting away the tools.

He didn't know how long he sat there with his face buried into Jack's broad chest with his hands fisted in Jack's shirt, but when the storm was over, the lights outside had dimmed and Jack was coaxing him to the bedroom.

"Talk to me, Mac." Jack whispered into blonde hair.

"Zoe wasn't supposed to die. The sealant substitute was supposed to work. Why didn't it? The one on my end did and I don't understand. Did... Did I do that? Did I get Zoe killed?" Mac asked, mostly just rambling and asking and scared, but everything would be okay as long as Jack was there.

"No, kiddo. No, you were so brave, you did everything you could. I'm so sorry this happened." Jack murmured back.

Mac wasn't sure he could believe him yet, but he would in time.

Jack would stay with him until Mac's fears and insecurities where put to rest.

Jack wouldn't leave him.

So that's why Mac believed him when Jack whispered. "It's all gonna be okay, kiddo. You didn't kill her, Mac. It's gonna be alright."

That's why Mac believed him when he said that none of it was his fault and it was all the circumstances and nothing to do with him.

Zoe may have been lost to the waves, but it would all be okay.

It may be a bit before Mac was willing to go on a boat, though.

 **Yeah, I know, it's stupid and short, but I felt that the writers didn't put in enough time and I felt Mac deserved a better ending. It shouldn't have gone down like it did and I'm so upset for the writers to do that, but they're working the show and I'm not. So the only thing I can do is write these tags/one-shots and pray for a better ending next week.**


	7. My Kids

My Kids

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

 **Well, it didn't happen in the episode, so here's what I think should've happened between Jack and Jimmy.**

 **Tag to S.2 E.13 "CO2 Sensor + Tree Branch"**

Jack was staying with Mac after the kid had more nightmares about his capture by Murdoc and Zoe and how he could've killed someone, and Jack was thinking about how much he _hated_ the universe for putting such a sweet, kind, _innocent_ young man through all the shit he'd been through.

He'd gotten the call from Jimmy over Facebook messenger a few weeks after the reunion.

Jack didn't remember exactly what was said, but it was something like, _Pick a bar, I owe you a drink._

Jack had thought on that while on the blow up mattress beside Mac's bed.

("You sure you wouldn't rather have an actual mattress, Jack?"

"Nah, I'm not dragging a mattress in here, it'll just make it hotter in here.")

He nodded to himself and typed back his response, just managing to send it before Mac was whimpering and tightening his grip on Jack's hand.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

They met up in some random bar Jack just remembered the name of from one of Mac's late night bar runs.

("Mac, we need to go back to your house and sleep, not go to a bar and drink ourselves unconscious."

"One more drink, Jack, _please._ "

"One more, then we go home."

" _Thank you_.")

"Jack! There he is!" Jimmy called, waving from the bar with a Texas beer in hand.

"Hey, Jimmy!" Jack replied, plopping down on the stool next to him. "What's up?"

"Dude, I want to know how you've been doing! You never said besides bathroom tiles, man." Jimmy laughed.

"Alright. Bring a beer, I'll tell you." Jack laughed.

As the bartender slid over a cold one, Jack got started on telling him about joining the army and serving in Afghanistan.

"Met a nice girl named Sarah and we hooked up." Jack grinned and his smile only broadened as Jimmy started laughing.

"So what about kids, man? You have any kids?" Jimmy asked.

Jack froze for a second.

He thought about that.

He thought about his small family.

He thought about a courageous little boy who'd become like his kid when he stood right there in front of the car when his best friend was kidnapped and Jack realized that that boy had become more than a pain in his ass.

He thought about an angry little girl who'd cried too hard over a man who didn't deserve it and cried her eyes out again when she admitted to Jack that she missed him and she was angry he'd left her and she demanded to know why.

He thought about the lonely little boy he'd met in the desert and had absolutely _hated_ at first, but realized that this kid that was too young to be looking for bombs in the desert, the kid that was on the wrong side of twenty, the kid who'd saved him even when Jack told him to get out and save himself was his brother and more than that, after Paris all those years ago, his little boy.

Jack laughed and smiled. "Yeah, I got three kids, they're adopted." He replied. "Wanna hear about 'em?"

Jimmy smiled, "Sure do!"

Jack pulled out his phone and scrolled though his gallery to find the right picture.

He offered commentary on a few other pictures before he found the right one.

The picture was of Bozer, Riley, and Mac.

The courageous little boy was laughing, head thrown back, his eyes closed, and his mouth wide.

The angry little girl was smiling and laughing, her eyes lit up with joy and mirth and mischief.

The lonely little boy was grinning, teeth on show as he watched his two of best friends in the whole world laugh.

Jack smiled at the picture. "These are my kids."

Jimmy raised an eyebrow. "Man, you got some good looking kids."

Jack chuckled. "Yeah, I know. Let me tell you 'bout them. Now the boy on the right end, that's Bozer, he's the oldest, 28."

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

"Jack, this is Wilt Bozer, my roommate." Mac gestured to the older man with a smile. "Bozer, this is Jack, my partner from the Army."

Jack held out his hand and Bozer shook it.

("Meet your roommate? What, are we dating?"

"No, but your both important to me and I want you to know each other exists."

"You're the boss.")

"Nice to meet you, Bozer."

"Likewise, Jack. You staying for dinner? I'm making ribs."

Mac's eyes lit up. "Oh, trust me, you're going to want to stay." He said, heading for the fridge and grabbing the meat out.

Jack shrugged. "Alright, I got time to kill. I'll stay."

Bozer grinned. "Awesome, dude."

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

"Tell me about him, Jack." Jimmy pushed. "I wanna know about your kids."

"Bozer is the protector I think, he's loyal and kind and wants to make a movie. He's a crappy screen writer, but he's getting better." Jack leaned in and whispered jokingly. "Don't tell him that." He laughed. "He's the best damned cook I've ever met, too."

Jimmy laughed. "He sounds great."

"He is great. Greater than he'll ever admit to himself." Jack replied.

"What about the girl?" Jimmy asked, tapping the picture over Riley's head.

"That's Riley, she's 25. She's a firecracker."

"She looks like it." Jimmy chuckled.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Diane smiled as she opened the door and let Jack in. "Hello, darling. Nice to see you made it." She kissed his cheek.

"Oh I wouldn't miss this for the world, Diane. I'm finally getting to meet her, right?" Jack asked as he shrugged out of his jacket.

"Oh yes, come help me finish dinner and I'll introduce you when we eat." Diane moved towards the kitchen and Jack followed quickly.

When they finished fixing dinner, Diane walked to the staircase and called, "Riley, dinner's ready!"

The sound of stomping came rushing down the stairs and Jack was greeted by a little girl with fiery eyes. "Hi." He said.

"Hi." The little girl replied. "I'm Riley."

"I'm Jack."

"Are you gonna hurt Mommy too?"

Jack paused. "No, kiddo. I'm here to make sure he doesn't get to hurt your Mom again."

Riley smiled and Jack knew she was sold.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

"What's she like?" Jimmy asked.

"Oh, she's fierce and fiery and her own kind of beautiful. She's a heartbreaker. She's like a tornado, I think." Jack grinned bigger.

He was fully aware that he was saying things he wouldn't usually say, but when it came to his kids, there's wasn't a filter. He often said what he thought, especially when it came to protecting them.

"And who's this last one?" Jimmy tapped Mac's face.

"That's Mac, he's my youngest, 22." Jack replied.

Jimmy saw the fond look. "He your favorite?" He teased.

Jack chuckled. "Nah, he's just the one that needs me the most. He's got this God awful luck. He's always getting into trouble. He's the reason I had to duck out early at the reunion and why we couldn't meet up last week."

("Mac, you sure you'll be okay this time?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. If I'm not, I promise I'll call you."

"You better, kid. I'll be back before 12."

"Have a good time, Jack.")

Jimmy's eyebrows raised. "What happened?"

"He went into the military too young and now he has these awful nightmares of some of the things he's seen." Jack sighed.

Jimmy's eyes widened. "I'm sorry, Jack."

"Ah, 's not your fault, it's his Dad's fault. He up and left when Mac was 10."

"Jeez. Good think you found him, huh?" Jimmy asked.

"Yeah, good thing." Jack replied.

Jimmy threw back a shot and Jack was silent as he set his wallpaper before their silence was broken by Jack's phone.

A picture of Mac's smile, a peace sign, and army fatigues flashed on the screen and Jack sighed. "Hey, man, I gotta go."

"Your bathroom tiles calling you again?" Jimmy teased with no malice. "Go on, I got the bill. I owe you. I'll see you soon, man!" He held out his hand and Jack shook it, pulling the man in for hug.

"Thanks, Jimmy. I'll see ya." Jack back off and answered the call.

"What's up, kiddo?"

"J-Jack." Jimmy heard above the music before Jack was gone.

Jimmy smiled and raised his glass in a silent toast to Jack and his kids.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack shut the door behind him and set down his keys and duffel bag from his car. "Mac?"

"H-Here." the younger called back.

Jack made his way to the living room and out through the deck. He was quick in finding his youngest, dark eyes scanning over every inch of the deck before finding Mac curled up beneath the table out there. Jack grunted as he knelt down and got a better look at his youngest charge.

Mac was shaking, skin flushed, he was almost too pale, tear streaked down Mac's cheeks and Jack cursed the universe again.

"What's up, kiddo?" Jack asked.

"I could've killed him, Jack. I could kill anyone. I didn't follow my instincts and Pena got killed. Screwed up the sealant mix and Zoe died. You always risk your own life for me, and-" Mac cut off as Jack pulled his best friend into a hug.

"There's no point in screwing yourself over because that's not what either of them would've wanted. It's not what I'd want. Now, I didn't know Zoe and I sure as Hell didn't know Pena, but I know that if they were even half as great as you say they are, and I believe they are, they wouldn't want you to wallow around in misery. Now, don't go forgetting that even if they aren't here." Jack pulled back and pointed to Mac's super computer of a brain, "They're still here," Jack pointed to Mac's heart, "and they're still here."

"And as for my risking my life?" Jack gave Mac a smile. "Kid, I'm not planning on going anywhere that you can't bring me right back with a single phone call any time soon. I risk my life for you so I can be here when you need me. Now, you listen to me." Jack pulled Mac back to his chest again. "You're my brother, my best friend, and my partner. Ain't no one gonna take that away cause I'll be damned if there's someone who can do my job better. And just because Pena and Zoe are gone doesn't mean you killed them. You're smart, Mac, sometimes too smart for your own good, but your heart won't let you go killing anyone. You got me?"

Jack felt Mac nod into his shoulder. "Now, let's get you back to bed, huh?"

Mac nodded again and Jack easily pulled him up despite his knee's protest. "By the way, you'd better remember that entire spiel, because I doubt I will if the time comes to give it again."

That got a laugh out of the blonde as he laid back down on his bed.

"You need me to stay in here or you good with me staying on the couch?"

The blow-up mattress had been removed from the room earlier that afternoon because it was taking up a little too much space and Mac had wanted to try out some new DIY think he'd found on YouTube.

"I think I'll be okay." Mac replied, curling up on the bed.

"Alright, you know the drill. You scream and I come running."

"Thanks Jack." Mac replied with a smile. "Night."

"Night, kiddo." Jack replied, leaving the room.

Jack smiled as he stretched out on the couch. His kids.

He liked the sound of that.

His kids.

Jack fell asleep to those words circling around his head.

 _His kids._


	8. Take Care of Him

Take Care of Him

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

To say that Jack was pissed would be an understatement.

To say his was furious was an understatement.

Any word for angry would likely be just as much of an understatement.

There wasn't a word Jack knew that would describe how he was feeling right then.

Elwood seemed to pick up on his mood and was wisely staying silent, save one phone call from Jill where Jack had apologized for implying that they where expendable and had told them he hadn't meant to say that at all.

Jill then hung up and said good night and the men where plunged into silence once more.

Eventually, Elwood broke the silence and sighed. "Was it worth it, Jack?" He asked.

Jack didn't reply at first. Then, "What do you mean?"

"Don't play that. You know exactly what I mean. Now I know that what we just did was illegal and I know that you'd never do something like that without a reason. I know that you're far too fit and knowledgeable for a person who's only ever sold bathroom tile and I know all I need to know about you from Riley. You where in Special Forces that much I can gather just from this trip.

"I know for a fact that no sane man would go up against a woman like Matilda Webber if they wanted to keep their balls in tact, so you tell me Jack Dalton, what the fuck was I just doing in the house of your goddamn boss breaking into a fucking safe if only to take a picture and break some shit that looked extremely expensive."

Elwood paused and Jack said nothing. "Tell me, Jack. What the fuck was I doing there?"

Jack pulled the car into the lot they'd left Elwood's car at and put his car in park.

"The less you know right now, Elwood, the safer you'll be in the long run. All you need to know is that this is going to keep your daughter safe and it's not coming back to you." Jack replied.

"That's not good enough Jack. If you're some kind of spy, then I get you can't tell me anything, but you have to tell me something." Elwood told him.

"I can't tell you anything, Elwood. I'm sorry." Jack shot back.

He sighed. "Elwood, listen. The closer you are to this, the more time you're going to spend in jail when Matty finds out, so I'm not telling you a single thing about it because it'll keep you safe and it'll keep you in Riley's life in the event that Matty kills me for this, which she probably will.

"Now, I've only got one thing to ask you for. Call it a personal favor."

Elwood paused and looked like he would argue, but then he sighed and nodded. "Alright. What is it?"

Jack pulled out his phone and scrolled through his pictures. He came across the one that he'd taken after a victory in the desert.

Jack's blonde partner had successfully defused a bomb threatening to blow up a school and the kids had each thanked him in their own way.

Afterwards, Jack had told him to smile and snapped the picture.

Mac was still in army fatigues, but didn't have on the helmet. Mac had laughed, flashed the peace sign, and grinned wide.

Jack paused, wishing he didn't have to go and show the poor kid the picture.

After Nikki.

After Thorton.

After Mac's dad.

After everything that had happened to the kid, Jack didn't want to break his heart anymore, but he had to show Mac this picture.

Much as he wanted to let it go, to take care of it himself, to tell Matty to get off her damned high horse and tell Mac the truth, he'd promised Mac that he wouldn't let him down and Jack didn't make promises lightly.

He'd have to break the news to Mac that once again, a person they'd trusted, someone they thought was different, had betrayed the trust they'd placed in them.

Elwood cleared his throat and Jack snapped out of his thoughts.

Jack showed Elwood the picture of the too-young partner Jack had risked everything for.

The 22 year old that Jack was risking his job, his safety, and his life for just for thinking about breaking into Matty's house.

"You haven't met him yet, but if I know Riley, then she'll show you her little brother soon. This is Angus MacGyver, call him Mac. This is why I'm risking everything. Mac's my boy and I'm gonna do everything I can to protect him. So, if all this goes to shit and I don't come out alright, or at all, I want you to make sure you take care of him. Cause he's gonna fall into the biggest pit of depression you'll ever see in your life if I die.

"I want you to make sure he's taken care of because he won't do it himself and Bozer and Riley won't be able to help him. If you have to, force him to eat, force him to get up and do something. You make sure he knows that I'm asking you to do it because he won't accept it otherwise.

"And most importantly, you learn the faces of the people who've hurt him, Riley will tell you all of them if you ask her. You learn their names and you learn the faces and you keep them away from him. They will lie and cheat and manipulate Mac into doing something he'll never forgive himself for. Please, Elwood. You take care of my boy. Take care of Mac. Cause I can't do anything until I know that someone will be able to protect him in my place if I'm not around." Jack looked at Elwood with pleading eyes.

Elwood took a long look at the boy in army fatigues, wondering who this boy was that had earned this much love and respect from Jack Dalton.

Elwood then decided that this was the same kind of kid as Riley.

He took in the blonde hair covered by a bandana and the blue eyes that held all the innocence in the world.

Then Elwood looked up at Jack and nodded. "I'll take care of him Jack. I promise."

Jack sighed in relief. A little of the weight lifted from his shoulders. "Thank you, Elwood." He smiled. "Now get outta here."

Elwood nodded and got out of the car.

Jack watched as Elwood got into his car and drove away.

Jack sighed. Knowing that Mac would be taken care of took a lot of pressure off of him.

The storm that was coming would put Mac right in it's way and Jack would not be having that.

Mac wouldn't get hurt this time.

Not on Jack's watch.

 **This took me all of 30 minutes to write. That's a new personal record. Alright, well, this is my contribution for the week. I kept wanting to write, but nothing sounded right when I wrote for this fandom. So, I just went with my gut on this.**

 **Hope you like it.**


	9. Aliens and Flash Drives

Aliens and Flash Drive

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

 **Tag to the episode UFO + Area 51.**

Jack had debated his decision over and over in his head.

He'd run through the pros and cons of telling Mac what Riley had found.

Jack so desperately wanted this to be something Mac didn't have to worry about. He wanted to take care of it himself, like he promised Mac he would help him do.

But this was _Mac's_ dad and much as Jack wished he didn't have to tell his youngest, Mac wanted to know.

And Jack had promised him he'd tell him if he ever found anything else out.

So, even though he didn't want to, Jack was going to tell Mac about the file and when everything exploded, Jack was going to be there to help the kid through it because that was Jack's job.

Even if he didn't like what it meant sometimes.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

After telling Mac about the file, Jack stayed with the kid.

He wondered if Mac would need him to stay the night.

Riley eventually got a text from Matty, who wanted to go over a few final details from their mission. She smiled, thanked Bozer for dinner, and patted Mac's shoulder. Then she was gone.

Bozer, knowing that Matty knew and was changing the rules of the school, had made plans with Leanna. They were finally going on a date, so he was going once she called him. He got the call and left with a shout of, "don't with up for me!"

This left Mac and Jack alone.

"Matty's habit of splitting us up seems to be becoming a permanent decision." Jack commented absently.

"She's not splitting us up. She just didn't think your skills were needed so she took this time to grill you about breaking into her house. Which was pretty stupid, by the way. Not sure if I mentioned that or not." Mac replied distractedly, fiddling with the flash drive Riley had given him.

"Seems to me that you've got more on the big brain of yours that my stupidity, brother." Jack leaned forward, poking Mac right between the eyes.

Mac blinked, looking up at Jack with slightly glazed blue eyes. "Now I know it doesn't have anything to do with yours truly," Jack gestured to himself, " _or_ Matty's latest habits, so tell me what's on your mind."

Mac blinked again, paused, then his eyes got a distant look that told Jack Mac wasn't entirely present. "I don't know."

"You don't know what?" Jack asked.

"I want to find my father, but I have you. I don't need him. And at the same time, I want to know why he left, and why I wasn't enough for him to stay. Then there's Matty's involvement, which I want to know about, but that doesn't bother me as much as my father's involvement with the government and what he did for them, and I want to know if that was why he left and Ican'tfigureoutwhyheleftandIcan'tfigureitoutbutitshouldn'tbothermesomuch-"

Jack cut Mac off by pulling him into a hug before he could make himself sick.

"Shh. It's gonna be alright. Everything's gonna work out. If you don't want to look at the flash drive, it's alright. I'll support you. If you do want to look at the flash drive, that's fine too, I'll still support you. Because I love you, Mac, and if the lead goes dead, I'll shake down Matty herself to find it again. Alright?"

Mac nodded, breathing deep with his face pressed against Jack's chest.

"Good, now let's put this down for the night and come back to it tomorrow, alright?" Jack gently took the flash drive from Mac's hands and pulled the blonde up on his feet.

Jack pulled Mac down the hall and stopped in front of the blonde's bedroom door.

Mac sighed, walking in and stumbling onto the bed face first.

Jack padded in and smiled. "Need some help there, kiddo?"

Mac groaned and twitched his foot.

Jack laughed. "Alright, hold still."

Jack gently removed Mac's shoes and socks, then helped the kid pull off his shirt.

Jack left the loose sweat pants, but did pull out a shirt that Jack was sure used to be his, but that wasn't important.

"Want me to stay?" Jack questioned the younger man as he finished and let Mac lay back down undisturbed.

Mac gave a muffled grunt that Jack mentally translated to "yes, please, I want you to stay, but I don't want to seem clingy or desperate, so I won't ask you out right."

"Alright. I'll be on the couch if you need me, kiddo. You know the drill right?" Jack teased.

Mac nodded, lifting his head just enough to reply, "I scream and you'll come running."

Jack laughed. "That's the spirit. Night, Mac. Love you, man."

"Love you too, Jack. Good night." Mac grunted as he turned and pulled the blankets over him.

Jack smiled to himself as he watched, then he went and laid down in the living room on the rather comfortable couch.

As he slipped into a dreamless sleep, one last thought fluttered to mind.

" _Through Aliens and flash drives, I'm here for you, Mac._ "


	10. Leaving, Trust, and a Father Who Stays

Leaving, Trust, and a Father Who Stays

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

The others watched as Mac walked out of the building and Jack sighed.

"I'll go. He's my responsibility, my kid, I got this." Jack started to go, but was stopped as James MacGyver stood in his way.

"He isn't your kid." James protested.

Jack was tempted to let some of the pent up, deep seated, fiery rage out and slam his fists into the man's face, but he needed to get out of here quickly and punching Mac's Dad wouldn't help.

"Not arguing with you on this, sir. That boy you just hurt needs me and you're standing in my way. So we can do this the easy way, where you let me go and I try to get Mac to stay. Or we could do this the hard way where I punch you in the face, hand in my own resignation earlier than I planned, and still walk out that door. Your choice." Jack waited all of twenty seconds, then tapped his foot impatiently.

James MacGyver, as smart as he claimed he was, didn't move.

 _(See, James MacGyver may have been Mac's father, but any fool could have a kid. It took a real man, a real_ Dad _to raise a child._

 _Jack was more than a brother to Mac, Jack was Mac's Dad too._

 _And Jack wouldn't tell that to James, or anyone else, but it meant the world to him that this smart-mouthed, bullheaded kid looked to Jack, a Texas boy with_ so many _flaws as his Daddy.)_

Jack shrugged. "Alright," he let his fist fly, it stopped three inches from Mac Senior's face, but the man still flinched.

Jack pulled his fist back. "Now, I don't want a law suit, but I'm not afraid of one. Do I need to actually hit you, or are you gonna move?"

Mac's Father did the first smart thing Jack had seen him do and moved out of the former Delta man's way.

"Thank you. Now, if I don't get Mac to stay, I'll be handing in my own resignation too, sir. Be it with good or bad news, I'll be seeing you later." Jack then left as fast as he could to catch up with Mac.

He knew Mac had taken his Jeep today and Jack didn't know if Mac was okay enough to drive, but he hoped Mac was thinking smart enough to realize he probably wasn't.

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Mac let the door of Phoenix slide shut behind him for what may be the final time.

As he made his way to his Jeep, his thoughts spun. Mac had walked out of Phoenix and walked away from his father.

Mac had every intention of _not_ coming back because he was completely serious when he said he couldn't work for someone he didn't trust.

 _(He'd told Bozer, Riley, and Jack about his decision. After a bit of thinking, he also clued in Matty because none of this had technically been her fault, she had been trying subtly, but she couldn't break her oath._

 _He wasn't staying._

 _Mac was sure Jack would follow him out like Jack had always promised he would.)_

It took Mac a while to realize he wasn't standing any longer and his cheeks where wet.

He was kneeling against his Jeep's tires and doubled at the waist, crying harder than he'd ever cried before.

Harder than when Murdoc captured him, harder than the night Jack almost died, harder than when Zoe died, harder than when Thorton betrayed them, harder than when Nikki did the same.

Harder than when Pena died.

Harder than that night when he and his biological family where separated and he couldn't find them anywhere.

Mac sobbed, harsh cutting spasms that tore from his throat and spilled past his lips with him powerless to stop them.

He cried, tears slipping from his eyes and falling down his face despite his attempts to stop them.

Mac simply say there and cried like it was his mother dying all over again, then his father leaving, then his grandfather passing on.

All the guilt, all the pain, all the cuts and wounds were ripped open again, fresh and raw and bleeding and hurting and _please God, make it stop._

Mac cried until he couldn't anymore, but he didn't know how long that was.

Slowly, he registered the arms wrapped around his body, the broad chest he was pressed against instead of his cold Jeep, and the warmth seeping into his icy veins.

"J'ck?" he slurred, exhaustion taking over his mind.

"Shh, I'm here. Don't worry, alright? I won't leave you."

Mac's world began to go dark as sleep claimed him, but he did register one last thing before he fell into its sweet, blissful clutched.

 _"Don't worry, 'bout a thing. 'Cause every little thing, is gonna be alright."_

 _MacGyver~MacGyver~MacGyver_

Jack pulled Mac's Jeep into the drive way of his kid's secondary home and shut off the engine.

Mac had fallen asleep after his... Whatever is was, Mac would tell him later and Jack ultimately decided that his kid was too emotionally exhausted to stay at his own house by himself.

 _(Mac would never admit it, but Jack knew that Mac loved Jack's shitty apartment because it was Jack's and that meant he was safe there. Nothing was going to happen to him when he was with Jack._

 _Jack didn't like to admit it, but he'd been slacking in his duties lately._

 _He promised himself to pick up the slack because this couldn't be healthy and Mac wasn't benefitting at all.)_

"Hey, Mac." Jack gently shook Mac's shoulder and the blond man groaned, batting at Jack's hand like it would do him any good.

"Come on, man. I wouldn't mind it, but I think my neighbors would be pretty curious if I carried a half-conscious 22 year old up three flights of stairs to get to my place." Jack protested.

"Don't care," Mac mumbled, curling further into a ball.

Jack chuckled. "You really want me to carry you, Mac?"

"Too tired to walk." Mac grumbled in reply.

Jack chuckled and nodded, "Alright." He got out and headed around to the passenger side of Mac's Jeep. Opening the door, Jack very gently pulled his too-young partner onto his back to give him a piggy-back ride up to Jack's apartment.

Once in the apartment, Jack carefully strips Mac to his boxers and dresses him in the pajamas the blond man had left over the course of his years staying there.

"W'll you st'y?" Mac asked, catching Jack's sleeve before Jack could leave the room.

"Yeah, of course I will. Let me just go get dressed in better suited clothes to sleep in." Jack ruffled Mac's hair and chuckled as Mac halfheartedly batted at his hand again. "I'll be right back, kiddo, alright?"

"Kay, Dad." Mac murmured and Jack smiled briefly, allowing the warm, fuzzy feeling to engulf his heart.

Then he quickly left to get changed and grab his pillow so he could stay with his boy that night.

When he got back into the guest room, Jack found Mac fast asleep, curled up on his side and looking so _young_ and _small_ and _Jesus_ Jack never wanted to let the kid go.

Jack set down his pillow and left again to quickly check his locks, then came back and laid down in his guest bedroom's bed with the too-young boy who'd become his little boy.

James MacGyver may have been Mac's father.

But _Jack_ was Mac's _Dad_.

And Jack was the Dad that _stayed_.


End file.
